Unwind
by Prinnyramza
Summary: Hekapoo and Marco chat after Starcrushed. [Copy from AO3. Originally published 2017-03-15]


The yelling had stopped that was good. It was getting pretty awkward for him standing in a relatively unfamiliar place alone. Through to be honest Marco didn't think that the alternative was better. He was sure from the brief moment he spoke to Star that something was different between them and he wasn't completely sure what to make of it.

He guessed that she felt the same because she rushed off and he hadn't seen her for the rest of the night. Unfortunately she was also supposed to be his guide so he no idea where to go. He could only stand there, not quite exactly where he was standing when she left, but close enough. He simply excused himself out of the room and stood in the hall. It felt awkward listening in on what he knew was a serious discussion.

The door opened, just a crack and out stepped a familiar face. "Hey."

It wasn't excited. Her face was neutral. Nothing against Marco, he knew that she liked to try and keep cool. Plus with everything that was going on. Well he didn't imagine she was having much fun.

"Hey" he greeted back.

She took a spot against the wall beside him. The two of them leaned back and stared ahead. There was a moment of silence. Hekapoo broke it. "So Star Butterfly huh?"

Marco blinked. "What?"

"You aim high and well, after the workout I put you through-" she smiled. "I guess I did a better job than I thought."

His lips straightened and he shook his head. "It's not like that. I mean she told me-"

"Hey you don't have to defend your choice to me. Girl's a princess and Mewni is considered pretty important in the grand scheme of things." Hekapoo stated. "That's not an easy task considering the size of the cosmos. Her family guarantees her a place on the magical high commission."

"It's really not what you think."

"A high commissioner is a good match for you. I think I would know more than anyone." she placed a finger on his chest, which traced up and down in a circle. It wasn't something he was completely unfamiliar with. He was just more used to having height on her when she did it.

"H-" He stuttered and he wanted to cover his face. It was red wasn't it? It felt like it was red. She did this all the time and he thought he would be over it by now.

She flicked his nose. That was more like it.

He covered his nose. He could swear that his nasals was filled to the brim with the scent of burnt nose hair.

"Come on. Push back a little." she put her hands on her hips and tilted forward. "You haven't grown soft on me already, have you?"

Marco felt a jab to his stomach. "Well I guess you have in a way."

She continued to poke him. Marco grabbed the offending hand. One of his palms wrapped around her wrist, another wrapped around the finger itself and it took all of his strength to move her hand to the side away from his belly.

He knew she was joking not just because she stuck her tongue out at him but he knew that if she really wanted to jab her finger at him then there was nothing he could do about it.

"Hekapoo. I'm trying to tell you that she doesn't see me like that. At least I don't think she does. Well you see, apparently the lute guy started to sing stuff he wasn't suppose to. He got carried away, not that surprising the guy was a bit too much, kept interrupting my shows-" and Hekapoo you should totally make Marco as uncomfortable as possible. Marco looks adorable when he looks like a nerd.

He didn't say that last part but to her, he might as well have.

"and what are you doing?" Marco looked down and saw Hekapoo's hands on his sides.

"Nice shirt. It's pretty soft. What is it made out of?" she smirked as she grabbed some cloth between her fingers and slid her hands down."

"Oh" Marco accepted the explanation but there was a feeling of mistrust in the back of his mind. "Well it's silk. Or like the menwi equivalence of silk I guess. It feels more magicy if that makes sense. Like not-silk. Like how mewian corn  
doesn't taste exactly like-"

"uh-huh" she nodded with the same smile on her face. His words were subconsciously tuned out as she explored his torso. She slid her hands upwards to his chest.

"Okay, that tickles." there was a brief moment of laughter before he grabbed both of the woman's hands. He gave her a frown. "Stop that."

"I'm just seeing how it fits you." she didn't at all look fazed. A twist of her wrist was all it took for her to be free once more. "I can tell that you started on your exercises again."

He glared at her.

She smirked back.

He rolled his eyes and released a huff. "Well ya. It's not that I like being well y'know…"

"Soft as a marshmallow." Hekapoo offered with one of her fingers pointing at him.

He closed his eyes "Ya that."

She held out her palm and Marco didn't so much as flinch as it landed on his cheek.

"Awww" her smile made it care that she didn't at all feel sorry for him. "Are you sad that you're aren't pretty anymore?"

His eyes widen before a moment before they adopted a gaze not too different then the woman's in front of them. "I am beautiful."

Marco looked at Hekapoo and Hekapoo looked at Marco. The two of them bursted out laughing.

"Oh you are a nerd." she couldn't really argue that considering that she let out a snort.

Marco let out another chuckle before breathing in deep. "Hey I'll have you know that I am a role model for little girls everywhere."

"Really now?" her amusement didn't hide how little she believed him.

"I'm serious" he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He faced the screen towards her. On it was a girl with ponytails and a long pink dress. Her eyelashes were long and in her hands were a doll which was a complete copy of her. One feature that caught Hekapoo's eyes was that she had a beauty mark on her cheek that reminded Hekapoo of Marco andohgoodnessthatwasMarco.

"Are you kidding me." she worked fast to pick her jaw back up from the floor. She tried to look sincere but the giggles wouldn't stop. "Oh I'm sorry. I was wrong. You are so pretty."

"And don't you forget it." Marco gave a grin. He pointed to the picture. "Not only that. You see that doll I'm holding here?"

"I've notice. You're rockin the whole barbie look hard."

"They actually sell them. I get royalties for them."

"No way really?"

"Really. They also have posters and junk."

"A celebrity huh?" Hekapoo smirked.

"Sort of."

"What you do to get that gig?"

"You know the usual. Marketing mostly, focus testing, surveys, starting a prison riot and ending a repressive regime." Marco listed.

"Oh a rebel too. Damn son and here I was thinking that you would be lucky to hook up with high commissioner. Now I wonder if it's the other way around. Maybe a high commissioner would be lucky to get with you."

"I'm telling you that Star and I aren't-"

"Who's talking about Butterfly?" She stepped forward and Marco stepped back.

He reached for his collar "Hey is it hot in here or-"

"Or is it just me?" She offered.

Marco blinked and his old friend rolled her eyes at him before pointing above her head. There was the ever present flame.

"Duh" She teased him.

Her arm slide towards his until she could hook it around the appendage. "This whole night has been a wreck. I need to do something fun."

"But aren't you guys busy with Glossaryck missing and all that biz."

"I'll deal with that later. Right now we're gonna do something that won't give me a headache.

"I don't really think there's really anything to do anymore. You guys were in there for a really long time. Not only that but I don't think the townfolks are really up to doing anything after that mess. I think they're not especially happy with us considering we're close to Star and her folks."

"Who need's the festival? Forger of the dimensional scissors remember. Come on be my date for a little bit."

"Date? Hekapoo I think I should-"

"Figure of speech limp stick. Course I wouldn't say no if you did ask me out."

"Wait really"

"Hey I'm not gonna act shy about it. Besides after tonight I'm a bit done with secrecy. But hey what don't you pick a destination and we can be off."

"Honestly Hekapoo, I'm kind of beat. I'd probably would've head straight home and passed out if Star didn't have my scissors."

"Really you have a girl on your arm and the power to go anywhere and you want to go back your room?" She glared at him. A look that lasted for a matter of seconds before giving way to a teasing grin. "Typical guy."

"Huh?" he blinked.

With a flick of her wrist a single scissor appeared in her hand which she slid through the air in front of her, slicing space itself like butter. Her signature red portal appeared.

She let go of his arm, stepping aside. "After you."

Before Marco could react, he felt a pressure on his back and he shot forward. His face met his bedroom floor. He wouldn't recommend the taste of unvacuumed wood floor to anyone.

Vacuumed wood floor maybe but unvacuumed was definitely out.

"Okay so we're in your room." Hekapoo walk around his tired body. She gently landed her behind on his bed. "Now what did you want to do here?"

Marco stared at Hekapoo. He stared at her smirk. He stared at her eyes brows which waggled. He stared at her neckline. He stared at- well let's just say he stared at a lot of things in Hekapoo's general direction. "Parcheesi?"

She glared at him.

He shrugged.

She rolled her eyes. Flames came to life for a brief moment in her hands and when they died down there was a board game in her mitts "Whatever."

If anyone asks Hekapoo is a gigantic cheater. As Diaz tried to explain to her many times 'no her pieces cannot teleport around the board' and 'no, being the forger of dimension scissors does not make you an exception'.

Her favorite trick for example was distracting him on his back and moving her pieces when he wasn't looking. Sounds like the oldest trick in the book but it's taken to a whole new level with the liberal use of clones and rifts in space.

In fact she was doing it now.

He could feel her hands wrap around his ears, sliding past to cover his eyes. "Guess who."

"Considering that this is like the seventh time you've done this. It's you Hekapoo just like it was you last time and it'll probably be you the eighth time too." Marco gumbled. "Plus you're like the only person I know with pure white palms."

"Profiling" Hekapoo gasped dramatically, at least that is what Marco thought she was going for. "For shame. Don't you humans have laws against such things."

The boy looked up. "Is this how the rest of my night is going to be?"

"Ah don't get so pouty. If you want me to stop messing with you then let's do something else. Parchessi is boring. It's pretty much just luck." she slumped against his back.

He continued to stay motionless and pout as she slid off and rolled onto her back. "Don't you have something with some skill? Risk, chess, strip poker?"

Marco turned to her and blinked. "What was that last one?"

Hekapoo roll back on her stomach "Chess?"

Why hello Marco's palm.

How did you get all the way to Marco's face?

"Okay Hekapoo. I got to stop you there. I got a feeling that you might be flirting with me."

"No?" Hekapoo flexed those drama muscles again. She rolled her eyes.

"And like I'm really flattered but I'm dating Jackie and-?"

She tilted her head "Jackie?"

"Ya you know Jackie." he was met with a completely blank stare. "I mentioned her to you a few times."

"Oh that girl you had a thing with a few years back." Hekapoo gave her forehead a tap. "Well a couple years from our perspective."

"Well she was still waiting here for me when I got back." Marco explained.

Hekapoo gave Marco a once over. She spat out a laugh "Isn't she like fourteen? Damn you're thirty. Leave it to an old prev to check out on high school girl."

"Hey that isn't-"

She stuck her tongue out. Her legs kicked up and she held her chin up with a palm. "Nah I get it. I get it. Younger girls make you feel like you're reliving your youth."

"I am reliving my youth." he gestured towards his very being "Look at me. I'm fourteen."

Hekapoo's eyes must be stained from how hard she was rolling them."I look fourteen too, doesn't mean I didn't wait until you were eighteen before I popped-"

"Just forget it." he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Her palm fell and with it her chin hit the floor. "Whatever you say grandpa."

"Okay I probably should be happy that you aren't upset-"

She chuckled"You shouldn't, if this was the other way around I'd be looking forward at the chance to make fun of you."

"-but why?" Why was she so unaffected by his rejection?

"Princess, I'm going to respect that you're dating someone else because one: I'm a general cool person." she stuck up her pointer.

Marco nodded. "Okay I'm not going to argue with that."

Her middle digit joined her pointer. "I am as old as sin. You think I've never been rejected before? I am a independent demoness and I don't need no man."

"Preach it sister." Marco smiled.

She stuck out her thumb. "Three: I'm not putting much stock in your high school romance."

"That makes sen- hey wait why not?" he doubled back.

"No offense, but she's fourteen and you claim you're fourteen." she dropped her hand."Things don't always work out when you're young and dumb."

"How am I not suppose to take offense to that?". He gripped the air. "And it's not like I don't know the odds."

He glared at her. "I have a plan."

"A plan?" Hekapoo raised an eyebrow.

"Yes a plan. First we date in high school." he counted on his pointer. "Then when we're in college I allow some distance. Distances makes the heart grow fonder." He counted on his middle finger.

"I'll visit her on the weekends with my dimensional scissors and well-" he counted on his ring finger. "Hold on I wrote this down."

She lazily waved an arm like a white flag. "No need. I got it. I got it. You will be very happy and have three kids."

"Two probably " he corrected her.

"Doesn't mean I can't just take your soul when you die and then have a proper date." she sat up.

Marco blinked. "You're going to do what now?"

"Board now." she sighed. "Come on, do you have Risk or not?".


End file.
